Brain Surges Anxiety Symptoms
Brain surges - the feeling that the brain experienced a surge of energy or fluid, or the brain was suddenly engorged with blood, or the head and brain experienced a sudden and unexplainable pressure, can be a symptom of anxiety disorder, especially a symptom of anxiety and panic attacks.
This article explains the relationship between anxiety and brain surges.
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Descriptions Of The Brain Surge Anxiety Symptoms:
- It feels like there is a sudden and unexplained surge of chemicals that flood the brain.
- It feels like the brain is being engorged with blood or other fluid for no apparent reason.
- It feels like there is a sudden surge of “something” that makes the head and brain feel like they are being “flooded” and under pressure. This feeling can also be accompanied by a “dizzy” or “lightheaded” feeling.
- It feels like the brain is suddenly flushed with adrenaline or cortisol, and that makes the head feel pressurized.
- It feels like the “brain” has been flushed with hot fluid, causing the brain to feel “hot,” “tingly,” or flushed feeling.
- Some people describe this symptom as having a “hot brain” feeling.
- It feels like the head and brain have experienced a sudden surge of fluid or “pressure” that lasts a few moments and then subsides…only for it to occur later on.
- Frequent head and brain “surge” feelings.
- The “brain surge” feeling can also be accompanied by hot feeling scalp, burning scalp feeling, burning head or face feeling, or none of these.
Brain surges symptoms can:
- Occur occasionally, frequently, or persistently.
- Precede, accompany, or follow an escalation of other anxiety symptoms or occur by itself.
- Precede, accompany, or follow a period of nervousness, anxiety, fear, and stress, or occur "out of the blue" for no reason.
- Range in intensity from slight, to moderate, to severe.
- Come in waves where it’s strong one moment and eases off the next.
- Occur for a while, subside, and then return for no reason.
- Change from day to day and moment to moment.
- Occur at any time of day or night.
This symptom can seem more noticeable when undistracted, resting, trying to sleep, or when waking up.
All the above combinations and variations are common.
To see if anxiety might be playing a role in your symptoms, rate your level of anxiety using our free one-minute instant results Anxiety Test, Anxiety Disorder Test, or Hyperstimulation Test.
The higher the rating, the more likely it could be contributing to your anxiety symptoms, including brain surges symptoms.
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Why Does Anxiety Cause Brain Surge Symptoms?
Medical Advisory
Talk to your doctor about all new, changing, persistent, and returning symptoms, as some medical conditions and medications can cause anxiety-like symptoms.
1. Active Stress Response
The moment we believe we could be in danger, the body secretes stress hormones into the bloodstream, where they travel to targeted spots to bring about specific physiological, psychological, and emotional changes that enhance the body’s ability to deal with a threat – to either fight or flee. This survival reaction is the reason why the stress response is often referred to as the fight or flight response.[1][2]
The stress response causes many changes, including:
- Shunts blood away from non-vital organs (stomach and digestive system, etc.) and to vital organs, which includes the brain. This shunting action can cause a sudden “surge” of blood to the brain, which can be felt as a “brain surge” symptom.
- Increases blood pressure. A sudden change in blood pressure can be felt as a “brain surge.”
- Affects neurotransmitter levels and electrical activity in parts of the brain. This change can be experienced as a “brain surge.”
- Stimulates the nervous system, which includes the brain. Nervous system stimulation can feel like a surge that happens in the brain.
- Causes a dramatic increase in perspiration to keep the body cool. A sudden increase in perspiration can make it feel like the head and brain are “hot.”
Any one or combination of the above stress response actions can cause a “brain surge” feeling.
Visit our “Stress Response” article for more information about the many body-wide changes.
2. Hyperstimulation
When brain surges are caused by hyperstimulation, eliminating hyperstimulation will eliminate them.
When stress responses occur infrequently, the body can recover relatively quickly from the physiological, psychological, and emotional changes the stress response brings about.
However, when stress responses occur too frequently, such as from overly anxious behavior, the body can’t completely recover. Incomplete recovery can leave the body in a state of semi-stress-response-readiness. We call this state “stress-response hyperstimulation” since stress hormones are powerful stimulants.
Hyperstimulation is also often referred to as “hyperarousal,” “HPA axis dysfunction,” or “nervous system dysregulation.”[3][4]
Hyperstimulation can cause the changes of an active stress response even though a stress response hasn’t been activated.
“Brain surges” symptoms are a common indication of hyperstimulation (chronic stress).
3. Medication
Certain psychotropic and sleep medications can cause “brain surge” feelings as side effects.[5] It’s best to discuss your medication with your doctor if you suspect your “brain surges” are being caused by your medication.
Other Factors
Other factors can create stress and cause anxiety-like symptoms, as well as aggravate existing anxiety symptoms, including:
- Recreational drugs
- Stimulants
- Sleep deprivation
- Fatigue
- Hyper and hypoventilation
- Low blood sugar
- Nutritional deficiencies
- Dehydration
- Hormone changes
- Pain
Select the relevant link for more information.
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How To Stop Brain Surge Anxiety Symptoms:
1. End The Active Stress Response
When this anxiety symptom is caused by apprehensive behavior and the accompanying stress response changes, calming yourself will bring an end to the active stress response and its changes. As your body recovers from the active stress response, this anxiety symptom should subside.
Keep in mind it can take up to 20 minutes or more for the body to recover from a major stress response. This is normal and shouldn’t be a cause for concern.
2. Eliminate Hyperstimulation
You can reduce and eliminate hyperstimulation by:
- Containing anxious behavior.
- Reducing stress.
- Regular deep relaxation.
- Relaxed diaphragmatic breathing.
- Regular light to moderate exercise.
- Getting regular good sleep.
- Eating a healthy diet of whole and natural foods.
- Avoiding stimulants.
- Passively-accepting your symptoms until they subside.
- Being patient as your body recovers.
Visit our “60 Natural Ways To Reduce Stress” article for more ways to reduce stress.
As the body recovers from hyperstimulation, it stops sending symptoms of hyperstimulation, including brain surges.
However, eliminating hyperstimulation can take much longer than most people expect, causing symptoms to linger longer than expected.
As long as the body is hyperstimulated, even to a mild degree, it can present symptoms of any type, number, intensity, duration, frequency, and at any time, including this one.
Even so, since brain surges are a common symptom of stress (acute and chronic), including anxiety-caused stress, it's harmless and needn't be a cause for concern. It will subside when unhealthy stress has been eliminated and the body has had sufficient time to recover and stabilize. Therefore, there is no reason to worry about anxiety-caused brain surges.
3. Therapy
Unidentified and unaddressed underlying factors that cause issues with anxiety is the number one reason why anxiety disorder and its symptoms persist. This is why dealing with your anxiety issues is the most important work overall if you desire lasting success.
Since the majority of stress comes from behavior (the ways we think and act), addressing the core reasons for anxiety disorder can reduce and eliminate the unhealthy stress that often leads to hyperstimulation and symptoms, including this one.
Keep in mind that eliminating anxiety symptoms doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve overcome issues with anxiety. Anxiety symptoms are symptoms of stress. Eliminating anxiety symptoms means you’ve eliminated the unhealthy stress that is causing your symptoms. But if the underlying factors that cause issues with anxiety aren’t addressed, it’s just a matter of time until the body is overly stressed and symptomatic again.
Rebounds of symptoms and a return to a struggle with anxiety are caused for this very reason: the core issues that cause problematic anxiety haven’t been successfully addressed.
To eliminate issues with anxiety and symptoms once and for all, we need to eliminate the cause of problematic anxiety – the underlying factors that cause issues with anxiety. When you eliminate the cause of the problem, you eliminate the problem and the problem's symptoms.
If you have been struggling with anxiety and symptoms, we recommend connecting with an experienced anxiety disorder therapist to help you overcome your anxiety issues. Research has shown that working with an experienced therapist is an effective treatment for anxiety disorder.[6][7]
All of our recommended anxiety disorder therapists have personally experienced anxiety disorder and have overcome it. Their personal experience with anxiety disorder combined with their Masters Degree and above professional training makes them a good choice when desiring to overcome anxiety disorder and its symptoms.
Moreover, getting therapy via teletherapy, distanced therapy, or e-therapy (telephone or online therapy) is as effective, if not more so, than in-person therapy.[8][9]
All our recommended anxiety therapists are experienced at working with clients via distanced therapy and new technologies. We’ve found distanced therapy to be especially effective when working with anxious clients.
Research has also shown that self-help information can also be beneficial.[10][11] For a more detailed explanation of anxiety symptoms, including this one, why symptoms can persist long after the stress response has ended, common barriers to recovery and symptom elimination, and more recovery strategies and tips, we have many chapters that address this information in the Recovery Support area of our website.
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Common Anxiety Symptoms
Additional Resources
- For a comprehensive list of Anxiety Disorders Symptoms Signs, Types, Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment.
- Anxiety and panic attacks symptoms can be powerful experiences. Find out what they are and how to stop them.
- How to stop an anxiety attack and panic.
- Free online anxiety tests to screen for anxiety. Two minute tests with instant results. Such as:
- Anxiety 101 is a summarized description of anxiety, anxiety disorder, and how to overcome it.
Return to our anxiety disorders signs and symptoms page.
anxietycentre.com: Information, support, and therapy for anxiety disorder and its symptoms, including brain surges anxiety symptoms.
1. Selye H. Endocrine reactions during stress. Anesthesia & Analgesia. 1956;35:182–193. [PubMed]
2. Folk, Jim and Folk, Marilyn. “The Stress Response And Anxiety Symptoms.” anxietycentre.com, August 2019.
3. Teixeira, Renata Roland, et al. “Chronic Stress Induces a Hyporeactivity of the Autonomic Nervous System in Response to Acute Mental Stressor and Impairs Cognitive Performance in Business Executives.” Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2015.
4. Yaribeygi, Habib, et al. “The Impact of Stress on Body Function: A Review.” EXCLI Journal, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, 2017.
5. NIDA. (2012, April 19). "Well-Known Mechanism Underlies Benzodiazepines' Addictive Properties."" 25 Sep. 2019
6. Hofmann, Stefan G., et al. “The Efficacy of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: A Review of Meta-Analyses.” Cognitive Therapy and Research, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Oct. 2012.
7. Leichsenring, Falk. “Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy the Gold Standard for Psychotherapy?” JAMA, American Medical Association, 10 Oct. 2017.
8. Thompson, Ryan Baird, "Psychology at a Distance: Examining the Efficacy of Online Therapy" (2016). University Honors Theses. Paper 285.
9. Kingston, Dawn.“Advantages of E-Therapy Over Conventional Therapy.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 11 Dec. 2017.
10. C., Lewis, et al. "Efficacy, cost-effectiveness and acceptability of self-help interventions for anxiety disorders: systematic review." British Journal of Psychiatry, Jan. 2012.
11. Kumar, Shefali, et al. "Mobile and traditional cognitive behavioral therapy programs for generalized anxiety disorder: A cost-effectiveness analysis." Journal PLOS, 4 Jan. 2018.